Arab League condemns Iran and Hezbollah in Saudi-led summit

During an emergency gathering that was requested by Saudi Arabia, the Arab League largely denounced Iran and Hezbollah’s actions, which according to the Arab states are destabilizing the region. The announcement arrived amid the continued tensions between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran.

The tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia continue as the foreign ministers of the Arab League issued a joint statement denouncing Iran and Hezbollah on Sunday during an emergency summit in Cairo. According to the statement, Iran is destabilizing the entire Middle East and has been assisting Shia rebels in the civil war in Yemen for over two years.

The summit was organized by Saudi Arabia, which clarified it wished to act in a “serious and honest” manner against “Iranian aggression.” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir emphasized that no weakness should be demonstrated when dealing with Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities.

In a draft resolution, the Arab League accused Iran and Hezbollah, which it considers to be a terror organization, of supplying weapons and ballistic missiles to various regional terrorist militias. “We are not declaring war on Iran at this stage,” announced Arab League Secretary-General and former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. “We will not request that the Security Council hold a special assembly, but we are alerting it to possible future steps we will take in our joint resolution [against Iran].”

As previously reported by JOL, Israeli Security Cabinet member and Minister Yuval Steinitz hinted that Israeli ties with countries such as Saudi Arabia could assist the ongoing effort against the Iranian threat. “The connection with the moderate Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, helps us stop Iran,” he said in a radio interview on Sunday.